Retail corporation Breuninger is up for acquisition.
German department store chain Breuninger, with branches in cities like Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, and Leipzig, is on the market for purchase. As reported by "Wirtschaftswoche" on Wednesday, the family owning the company is looking to sell both the retail business and the property. Around 31 businesses have shown interest.
The sale process is said to have started back in June, with Breuninger choosing to remain silent when contacted by "Wirtschaftswoche". If you exclude current debts, Breuninger might be valued around 2 billion euros, with real estate accounting for the majority of that amount, roughly 1.8 billion euros, according to sources talking to the newspaper.
The 31 interested parties, as pointed out by investment bank MacQuarie, are a mix of those eyeing only the properties, those interested only in the retail operations, and those considering the entire package.
Some potential takers for the retail side include Spanish department store chain El Corte Inglés and French chain Galeries Lafayette. Various institutional investors, such as Deka, DWS, and Union Investment from Frankfurt, have shown interest in the property side.
Prospective buyers for the entire business encompass Thai group Central Group and US entrepreneur Richard Baker. Baker, alongside a partnership, also secured the struggling Galeria Kaufhof chain earlier this year.
Breuninger runs 13 department stores, 12 in Germany and one in Luxembourg, as well as an online shop in 10 nations. The chain boasts a workforce of 6,500 people and raked in about 1.5 billion euros in revenue last year.
Breuninger's origins date back over 140 years: Eduard Breuninger opened his first store in Stuttgart's Münzstraße in 1881, followed by a second store in 1908.
The retail chain Breuninger, with its substantial presence in cities like Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, and Leipzig, is attracting interest from 31 potential buyers, as reported by "Wirtschaftswoche". Some of these parties, such as Spanish department store chain El Corte Inglés and French chain Galeries Lafayette, are eyeing only the retail operations of Breuninger.
